Sony Announces Targets For Its High-Capacity Lithium Sulfur Battery

According to Japanese reports, Sony set a target to commercialize higher energy dense lithium-sulfur batteries by 2020 to replace current lithium-ion batteries.

Two types are on the table: lithium-sulfur (Li-S) and magnesium-sulfur (Mg-S).

Roughly 40% energy density per volume improvement from 700Wh/L to 1,000Wh/L was mentioned.

At first, the new batteries could be used in smartphones, so possibly EVs will not get them in this decade (if ever), especially since the cells aren’t near ready yet, and cost is still the primary determining factor in vehicle applications.

We can’t be sure of course, but I certainly hope that by 2030 we’ll be seeing something quite different in EV batteries, a disruptive quantum jump improvement, and not merely a step improvement in chemistry such as switching to lithium-sulfur.

Such a disruptive jump could come from solid state batteries, or lithium-air “batteries” (or more properly, fuel cells), or perhaps li-ion enhanced with graphene electrodes for 5 to 10 times current energy density.

All of these improvements have already been demonstrated in the lab; it remains for somebody to figure out how to make them cheaply and reliably enough for mass production.

Li-S batteries have so far had low volumetric densities (500Wh/l), if Sony can double that and keep weight down and gravimetric densities around 500Wh/kg they’d have a great battery – 40% more energy in a given area and half the weight.

The volumetric density is interesting but the mass density is still what is essential especially when LiS batteries are the key to electric planes. So LiS will sure mean a breakthrough and a wider market for electric cars.

The 2030 date for LiS car application is a bit off since we are only in 2016. If gigafactory 1 start 2 years from now, LiS battery is going to made there much sooner than 2030. They will probably start with the conventional Li battery for 2 or 3 years, but by 2020, they are likely to start producing LiS as well. So by 2025, it will be all of it which makes the 2030 date kind of very pessimistic.